Home Office

Asylum: Employment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 22 June (HL8363),which stated "There are various safe and legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK under the Points Based System", what are those legal routes.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: There is a wide variety of legal routes available to migrants seeking to work in the UK. We granted over 300,000 work visas to main applicants in year ending March 2023.The full list of available routes, as well as guidance on each one, can be found on the government web site – https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what progressthey have made in dealing with compensation claims by Windrush victims.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The victims of the Windrush scandal suffered terrible injustices, and this Government remains steadfast in our commitment to do everything in our power to right the wrongs. We are determined to ensure everyone who was affected receives every penny of the compensation to which they are entitled. We are making significant progress towards achieving this aim, and we have now paid or offered more than £75 million in compensation as at the end of May 2023. Over 66% of claims received by the end of May 2023 have had a final decision.Since its launch, the Home Office has continued to listen and respond to feedback from affected communities and stakeholders about how the Scheme operates and its accessibility. The changes we made to the Scheme in December 2020 and August 2022, mean people receive significantly more money more quickly. Last year we published redesigned claim forms and refreshed casework guidance, with the aim of reducing the time taken to process claims and improving individuals’ experiences of applying to the Scheme. We also made changes to the Homelessness category and created a new category, ‘Living Costs’, to compensate close family members for certain contributions to a primary claimant’s living costs. These significant and positive policy changes were made following consultation with claimants and stakeholders.

Immigration: Staff

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any increase in the number of immigration staff that are being investigated and suspended as a result of violence and racism towards the detainees.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We expect all staff working in the immigration detention estate to behave in a professional and respectful manner. Where custodial staff are found not to have met the standards of behaviour and professionalism required they may face disciplinary action from their employer and may have their certification to work as a detainee custody officer reviewed by the Home Office.We operate a comprehensive complaints process for detained individuals including complaints submitted on their behalf by third parties. As set out in published guidance, DSO - 03-2015 Handling complaints (publishing.service.gov.uk), complaints involving any allegation of misconduct are referred to the Home Office Professional Standard Unit and all allegations of a criminal nature must be reported to the police as soon as the allegation is made.DSO - Handling complaints  (pdf, 385.8KB)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

BBC: Public Appointments

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will appoint a representative of Northern Ireland to the BBC board.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: This campaign is in its final stages and an appointment will be made in due course, in line with the requirements of the Governance Code and the BBC’s Royal Charter.

Department of Health and Social Care

Processed Food

Baroness Suttie: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with (1) UK medical professionals and scientists, and (2) international partners, about (a) developing, and (b) agreeing, internationally recognised definitions of ultra-processed food.

Baroness Suttie: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out research into the impact of ultra-processed foods on public health outcomes.

Lord Bethell: The Government has no plans.

Prescription Drugs: Addictions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect on dependence on prescribed drugs and treatment for such dependence.

Lord Markham: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Electronic Cigarettes: Health Hazards

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessmentthey have made, if any, of the safety of vaping; and what action they propose in consequence.

Lord Markham: The Department’s assessment of the safety of vaping are based upon a series of evidence reviews commissioned over the past several years. The most recent and final in the series, the 2022 Nicotine Vaping in England report, was published in September 2022. 'A copy of Nicotine vaping in England 2022 report' has been placed in the Library due to the size of the data.The report focuses predominantly on the potential health risks of vaping and concludes that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, but that vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked. The report carried out reviews on biomarkers of exposure to nicotine and potential toxicants; biomarkers of potential harm to health cutting across several diseases, including cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases; biomarkers specifically associated with cancer, respiratory, cardiovascular or other health outcomes; poisonings; fires and explosions; nicotine and flavours.The Government only recommends regulated vaping products to help adult smokers to quit smoking and vapes should not be used by people under 18 year olds or non-smokers.

Social Services

The Lord Bishop of London: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the upcoming workforce strategy for social care will implement recommendations contained in the Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, published by the NHS Confederation on 9 May, including (1) support for pharmacists to implement the Pharmacy First initiative, and (2) additional locum cover for GPs as they transition into 'modern General Practices'.

Lord Markham: In December 2021, we published our People at the Heart of Care white paper, setting out our vision for reforming adult social care, including our strategy for the care workforce. There is no plan to publish a further workforce strategy for adult social care. To support the National Health Service workforce, we have published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the NHS workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

Coronavirus: Hospitals

Lord Clark of Windermere: To ask His Majesty's Government how much resource has been expended on NHS Nightingale Hospitals.

Lord Markham: The total cost for the Nightingale hospital programme was £362 million, all of which was incurred during financial year 2020/21.

Sepsis

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase clinical awareness of sepsis.

Lord Markham: Improved awareness and clinical recognition of acute deterioration has led to an increase in the number of people identified and diagnosed as at risk of sepsis. Health Education England (HEE) has launched multiple sepsis training toolkits, including training for general practitioner reception staff to spot deteriorating patients. NHS England encourages healthcare providers to adopt the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) as a screening tool for the recognition and treatment of sepsis in clinical settings. The NEWS2 tool has been rolled out across 98.4% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England.To update and improve national guidance in line with new evidence, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are working with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) to implement their published recommendations for sepsis diagnosis and treatment from the ‘Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of Sepsis’, published in May 2022, which provides clinicians with a strong framework for clinical judgement and diagnosis of sepsis, ensuring antibiotics are used in a targeted and measured way. NICE is expected to publish the updated sepsis guideline, reflecting AoMRC’s recommendations, imminently.

Sepsis: Mortality Rates

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the incidence of sepsis in the UK in 2022; and what were the mortality rates for sepsis in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Lord Markham: Information on the incidence of sepsis in the United Kingdom in 2022 has not been validated and cannot yet be published. Information on the mortality rates for sepsis is not held, however the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the number of death registrations where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales between 2001 and 2021. The number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales was 21,458 for 2019, 19,324 for 2020, and 21,947 for 2021. ONS has not yet published the number of death registrations for sepsis for 2022.

Zoonoses

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of Min Cui, Bang Shen and others in their article ‘Animal diseases and human future’, published in Animal Diseases in April 2022, that 75 per cent of emerging human infectious diseases originate from animals.

Lord Markham: UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is aware of the paper Animal diseases and human future by Min Cui, Bang Shen et al published in Animal Diseases, April 2022. The paper asserts that “approximately 60% of human infectious diseases are zoonotic, and 75% of emerging human infectious diseases originate from animals”. While there is not one internationally agreed figure for the percentages of diseases, emerging or established, that are zoonotic, these figures are broadly in line with that of global public health partners such as World Organisation for Animal Health.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Rwanda: Armed Conflict

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, if any,following official US and EU reports that the government of Rwanda is arming and supporting the M23 militia, who are accused of mass killings and rapes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has a long-standing commitment to supporting prosperity, development, and stability in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We continue to monitor the security situation in eastern DRC closely and are deeply concerned by the grave humanitarian consequences. We are one of a few partners who have a permanent presence in Goma, despite the security challenges, and will continue to operate in the east to work with the Government and humanitarian partners. We regularly raise the conflict in eastern DRC with DRC, Rwanda and the region, where we urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda processes, including the withdrawal by armed groups including M23. The UK firmly believes the regional Nairobi and Luanda diplomatic peace processes provide the best means by which to achieve a lasting peace in eastern DRC and offer them our full support. We will continue to work with members of the international community to bring an end to the violence.

Uganda: Terrorism

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure a safe educational environment at the Lhubiriha Secondary School in Uganda after reports that many schools in that region are too afraid to open following the recent attack.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns the attack on Lhubiriha Secondary School that took place on 16 June. The Minister of State for Africa and Development issued a tweet on 17 June sending his condolences to those affected. Those responsible must be brought to justice. We are aware of reports that some schools have since closed due to fears of further attacks. The British High Commission in Kampala remains in close touch with the Ugandan authorities who are responsible for the security of schools.

Islamic State: Sexual Offences

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 March (HL5827), howmany of the 32 individuals convicted of terrorism offenses were investigated for sexual violence against Yazidi women and children.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Over 32 individuals have been convicted of terrorism offences in British courts after previously travelling to the Iraq/Syria theatre of conflict as Daesh fighters. We hold no information on how many of those were investigated for sexual violence against Yazidi women and children.

Andrew Tate

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan toensure that independent persons observe the forthcoming trial in Andrew Tate, a British-American dual national, his brother, and others, who are accused of serious offences in Bucharest.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials do not routinely attend court hearings overseas nor can they instruct independent persons to do so.

Ukraine: Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they willpress for immediate access to all Ukrainian prisoners, whether military or civilian, and whether or not they have been sentenced, for the international Committee of the Red Cross.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK routinely calls for full compliance with International Humanitarian Law, including granting humanitarian access to prisoners of war and civilian detainees. As set out in the Third Geneva Convention, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has the mandate to go wherever prisoners of war and civilian detainees are held and monitor their conditions of detention, their treatment, and share news with their families. ICRC has an ongoing confidential dialogue with Russia and Ukraine on this matter.

Russia and Ukraine: Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intendto assist with the detailed recording of all cases of torture or inhumane treatment of prisoners by both Russia and Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There is mounting evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. We remain committed to ensuring that all parties are held to account for their actions. Investigators from the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine are investigating all allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UK is supporting both independent investigations, financially and through capacity building programmes. The UK, the US and the EU established the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group to provide practical and financial support to the War Crimes Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

Health: International Cooperation

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government how, if at all, they are promoting the 'One Health' approach in multilateral policy processes, such as through the World Health Organisation's proposedPandemic Preparedness Treaty.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government promotes a One Health approach through its engagement with international fora such as the G7, G20, UN General Assembly and the Quadripartite organisations governing bodies. The importance of a One Health approach is highlighted in the UK's International Development Strategy, Global Health Framework and the 2023 Biological Security Strategy. The Government's priorities for a new international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR), currently being drafted and negotiated by member states of the World Health Organisation, including the UK, include embedding a One Health approach to PPR.

Russia and Ukraine: Prisoners

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to call for the immediate release by Russia and Ukraine of all medical personnel being held captive.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK consistently calls for Russia to comply fully with International Humanitarian Law, and the need to respect and protect medical personnel in all circumstances. Humanitarian organisations must be given full, safe and unhindered access to populations in need of assistance. No one should be punished for or prevented from providing essential medical treatment. In our public communications and statements we draw attention to Russia's actions in Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions of civilians. In March, the UK led a joint statement on behalf of 40 countries, which called on Russia to release everyone detained in contravention of international law.

Zimbabwe: Human Rights

Lord Oates: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to strengthen (1) support, and (2) protection, for (a) human rights defenders, and (b) civil society, in Zimbabwe.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Zimbabwe is one of the UK's 32 Human Rights Priority Countries. As the Minister of State for Africa and Development said to President Mnangagwa in May, the UK would like to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and safeguarding human rights.The UK has engaged with the Government of Zimbabwe on draft legislation including the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill and amendments to the criminal code that, if passed into law, could be used to undermine the operating capacity of civil society, and to silence and penalise critics of the state.The UK continues to support the most vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. This financial year, we are providing £74 million in official development assistance, focused on education and livelihoods, promoting health, supporting governance and human rights as well as climate resilience.

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what they consider maybe effective means for securing the release of British citizen Mr Vladimir Kara-Murza, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in Russia, following two previous attempts to poison him, whether by bi-lateral or multi-lateral action.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Vladimir Kara-Murza's conviction stands contrary to Russia's international obligations on human rights and we call for his release. We continue to raise Mr Kara-Murza's case with the Russian authorities in London and Moscow at all appropriate opportunities, including summoning the Russian Ambassador to the FCDO on the day of sentencing. In April, we sanctioned five individuals related to Mr Kara-Murza's detention and treatment. We have also raised Mr Kara-Murza's case in multilateral fora, most recently in sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. We continue to review all available options to raise Mr Kara-Murza's case to hold Russia accountable.

Ministry of Defence

Air Force: Training

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current assessment ofthe number of fast jet pilots now coming out of training.

Baroness Goldie: We continue to have sufficient aircrew to meet our operational commitments. A range of measures have been introduced to address challenges in the aircrew training pipeline, including the continued impact of the Hawk T2 engine issues which have reduced UK Sovereign pilot training capacity. To mitigate this, a small number of UK students will be trained overseas in partnership with our allies and partners to ensure Front Line demands are met.

Russia: Shipping

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many incursions into the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone have been made by ships of the Russian Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research during the past two years.

Baroness Goldie: Defence does not routinely record and archive the number of entries by foreign vessels into the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone. The number of instances that the Royal Navy is employed to escort a foreign vessel is, however, recorded. In 2021 the Royal Navy escorted 66 Russian warships through UK waters; 41 such warships were escorted in 2022. During the same period the Royal Navy also located and tracked several Russian submarines in the UK's marine area to guard against intrusion into UK sensitive waters.

Navy: Territorial Waters

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what Royal Navy (1) ships or boats, and (2) aircraft, are allocated for security and enforcement operations in the UK's Territorial Seas and Exclusive Economic Zone.

Baroness Goldie: The Royal Navy operates a flexible and responsive approach to the allocation of resource to address national security threats to the UK. In terms of vessel types, the Royal Navy allocates frigates, Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, Offshore Patrol Vessels, and minehunters, as well as helicopters (Wildcat, Merlin, and Chinook) to UK security operations. Additionally, the Royal Air Force supports operations in the UK maritime area with P8 maritime patrol aircraft.It would be misleading to provide a numerical answer on the numbers of vessels and aircraft available for maritime security purposes as allocations may change on a daily basis, affected by, amongst other things, operational readiness profiles, maintenance, training and exercise requirements, as well as the activity of other nations in and around the UK's Economic Exclusion Zone.

HMS Prince of Wales

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government when HMS Prince of Wales will start sea trials after defect rectification work.

Baroness Goldie: I refer the noble Lord to the answer that I gave to him on 3 April 2023 to Question HL6891.HMS Prince of Wales: Repairs and Maintenance (docx, 22.2KB)

Department for Transport

Road Traffic Offences: Enforcement

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many highway authorities have applied to the Department for Transport for civil enforcement of moving traffic offences, as set out in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004; and how many highway authorities have been granted these powers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Designation Orders granting powers to civilly enforce contraventions of moving traffic restrictions outside London are being introduced in tranches reflecting applicant local authorities’ different states of readiness. The first Order came into force on 15 July 2022 in respect of 12 local authorities. A second Order is currently before Parliament and is due to come into force on 22 July 2023 in respect of a further 40 local authorities. All applications had to meet a list of prerequisites set by Ministers in statutory guidance. Subject to approval of the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, a third Order is planned for early 2024, for which the application deadline is 25 October. No formal applications have yet been received.

Cultural Heritage: Road Signs and Markings

Lord Colgrain: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the criteria necessary for the (1) erection, and (2) display, of brown road signs to denote locations of cultural and historical significance; and whether local councils are required to provide assistance during that process.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The criteria necessary for a location of cultural and historical significance to potentially warrant a brown traffic sign are provided in Schedule 1 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, 2016 (TSRGD). TSRGD defines the term ‘tourist destination’ with the following meaning: (a) a Tourist Information Centre or Point;(b) a permanently established attraction or facility (other than a leisure facility) which—(i) attracts or is used by visitors to an area;(ii) is open to the public without prior booking during its normal opening hours; and(iii) is recognised as a tourist attraction or facility by the appropriate national promoter of tourism;(c) a village, town or city that is of particular interest to tourists;(d) a route that is of particular interest to tourists VisitBritian is the national promoter for England and they have criteria for minimum number of visitors, car parking, toilets etc. Decisions on whether to erect and display brown signs for any qualifying attraction is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. However, local councils are not required to provide assistance to attractions during the process of meeting the criteria.

Motorways: Safety

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to return smart motorways to ordinary motorways in the interests of safety.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: On 16 April, the Government announced that all plans for new smart motorways have been cancelled, recognising the lack of confidence felt by drivers and cost pressures. This means no new smart motorways will be built. We are focused on investing £900m to add further safety improvements to existing smart motorways, including constructing 150 extra emergency areas – so that people can continue to get around easily and with increased confidence.

Cycling: Road Traffic Offences

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to review the penalties for cycling offences, such as riding on a pavement in circumstances where a cycle lane exists.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the risk to pedestrian safety of carelessly ridden e-bikes, e-scooters and bicycles with a view to increasing the penalties that apply.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Cycling on the pavement is already an offence, and privately owned e-scooters cannot be ridden on the highway or on pavements. Enforcement of these offences is a matter for the police. There are already penalties in place for these offences and the Government has no plans to change these. The Government is considering bringing forward legislation to introduce new offences concerning careless or dangerous cycling, to tackle those rare instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour. This follows an earlier review exploring the case for specific careless and dangerous cycling offences, a response to which the Government will publish as soon as it can. In the case of e-scooters, a range of motoring offences and penalties currently apply for using an e-scooter illegally and/or irresponsibly, including criminal prosecution.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government which energy efficiency measures are included in the "fabric-first approach to decarbonising buildings" set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy (CP 388).

Lord Callanan: The Heat and Buildings Strategy is based on a 'fabric first' approach to decarbonising buildings by focusing on upgrading the building fabric before making changes to heating systems, to ensure the transition to low-caron heating is cost-effective and resilient. Current schemes allow the installation of measures which improve the energy performance of a dwelling within the scope of the “Standard Assessment Procedure” (SAP) – which assesses the energy performance of dwellings. This can include measures such as solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, underfloor insulation, draught-proofing, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, high heat retention storage heating, low energy lighting, solar PV, solar thermal and heating controls.

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that membership of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce includes representation from all parts of the energy efficiency sector, particularly with regard to insulation.

Lord Callanan: As part of their work, the Taskforce has established four working groups. These have included insulation experts.

Energy: Prices

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government why the green levy on energy bills will be introduced from 1 July after a six-month interval rather than after a two-year suspension as per their previous stated policy.

Lord Callanan: In the 2022 Growth Plan, the Government pledged to provide £150 to cover the costs ofgreen leviesincluded in energy bills for two years through the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG). By the end of June, this Guarantee will have saved a typical household in Great Britain around £1,100 in total, including the £150 we committed to.From July 2023, the Ofgem price cap will be set at £2,074, below the EPG discount level of £3,000 for a typical household.

Department for Education

Boarding Schools: Children in Care

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government whatconsideration they have given to providing additional resources to fund places for looked after children to boarding schools; and what assessment they have made, of any, of any benefits such children could gain from that process.

Baroness Barran: The department launched the Broadening Educational Pathways programme in 2020 to increase the role of the independent and state-funded boarding sector in the education of looked-after children. The Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation was appointed as a delivery partner, providing a placement brokerage service to ensure children are placed in schools best suited to support their educational attainment and personal wellbeing. In the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ implementation strategy, the department committed to further expansion of the programme and has subsequently extended the contract until September 2024 to further open up educational opportunities in boarding schools to even more children in and on the edge of care.The department will continue, over the course of the contract, to work in partnership with the Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation to understand the benefits to the children and young people placed by the programme, including the findings of formal research they have commissioned, from the University of Nottingham, on the outcomes for looked-after and vulnerable children attending boarding schools.

Further Education: Admissions

Lord Baker of Dorking: To ask His Majesty's Government how many students enrolled at Further Education Colleges at the ages of 14 and 15 in the years (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, (5) 2022, and (6) 2023.

Baroness Barran: The number of students enrolled at further education colleges of academic aged[1] 14 and 15 in the 2017/18 to 2022/23 academic years[2] were as follows:Academic YearNumber of students aged 14 and 152017/183,7262018/194,0892019/204,1402020/213,9562021/223,8872022/234,532[1] Age as of 31 August in the relevant academic year.[2] Complete data for the academic year 2022/2023 is not available yet. This data is as of 1 May 2023.

Cabinet Office

Unemployment: Young People

The Lord Bishop of Derby: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the levels of youth unemployment in the most recent period for which data are available.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.  The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of DerbyHouse of LordsLondon SW1A 0PW27 June 2023  Dear Lord Bishop, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the levels of youth unemployment in the most recent period for which data are available (HL8749). Estimates of youth unemployment are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). These estimates are published each month in our A06 SA: Educational status and labour market status for people aged from 16 to 24 (seasonally adjusted) dataset [1] . The latest data available, covering the period February to April 2023, estimates the number of unemployed people aged 16 to 24 years at 465,000 (10.9%). Yours sincerely, Professor Sir Ian Diamond [1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/educationalstatusandlabourmarketstatusforpeopleagedfrom16to24seasonallyadjusteda06sa UK Statistics Authority  (pdf, 112.5KB)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Safety Measures

Baroness Thornhill: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce updated regulations following the consultation Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings, published 23 December 2022; and what assessment they have made of claims that the uncertainty has led to new home construction being paused.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings consultation set out proposals to amend Building Regulations statutory guidance (Approved Document B). It closed in March 2023. More than 270 responses were received from industry, trade professions, residents’ groups and others, which are being analysed now. We recognise the construction industry’s need for clarity and we will provide that to the sector as soon as possible.Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national (pdf, 366.6KB)

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a non-qualifying leaseholder's ability to pay for building safety remediation, given that developers must meet an annual profit condition of £10 million and freeholders must meet the net wealth test of £2 million per relevant building.

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that once buildings are remediated, there is a mechanism to remove the non-qualifying status so that it does not affect (1) property valuation, (2) mortgage lending, and (3) saleability in perpetuity.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: There is no test of ability to pay for freeholders; the £2 million ‘contribution condition’ merely determines whether freeholders must meet all remediation costs for qualifying leaseholders or whether they can seek capped contributions from them. Likewise, the ‘annual profit condition’ of £10 million is an initial level above which we are seeking to apply the Responsible Actors’ Scheme to developers; it is not a figure below which developers are somehow exempt from meeting the cost of remediation.Once a building is remediated, the qualifying status of a lease should not have an impact on valuation, or mortgage lending. Major mortgage lenders made clear in a statement in March 2022 they would lend on buildings subject to remediation and guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published in December 2022 provides a clear approach on valuing properties impacted by building safety issues.